This invention relates to transferring information and more specifically to transferring status information by transmitting one of a number of predetermined frequencies.
Electronic systems typically generate and process enormous amounts of information which must be transferred about inside and outside the system. Many bus architectures exist for transferring information. For example, parallel and serial data buses are used to transfer information encoded as digital binary numbers, requiring microprocessors or extensive electrical circuits to generate, transmit, and decode the information. When the information to be transferred is less diverse, a number of dedicated status lines may be used, each assigned to transfer a single particular bit of information. However, these solutions require many electrical components and electrical conductors, thus adding to the cost, complexity, and unreliability of the system.
For example, complex electronic systems are frequently designed with relatively simple modular components. This makes testing and repair simpler and cheaper, as well as aiding the design process. Electronic modules are connected together to add functionality or redundancy to the overall system. In a well designed modular electronic system, faulty modules can often be replaced while the system is running, without interfering with system operation.
Information typically must be transferred between modules, such as status information which may be collected by a single part of the system to be presented to the user. Modules such as power supplies, which are designed to be as simple and reliable as possible, transfer a relatively limited amount of information to other modules. The total information to be transferred may consist of indicating which of a few possible states the module is in. A microprocessor based messaging system for transferring information from the module may be more likely to fail than the rest of the module. Likewise, using a number of dedicated status lines to transfer information, particularly for a removable module, would increase the likelihood of a bad connection, leading to failure. These and other disadvantages make previous methods of transferring information in an electronic system inadequate for many purposes.
The inventors have devised a system for transferring information across a single electrical conductor or transmission medium without requiring a complex bus architecture.
Thus, the invention may comprise a method of transferring information. The method includes converting the information to a constant frequency wherein the information is represented by the constant frequency, transmitting the constant frequency, and interpreting the constant frequency to recover the information.
The invention may also comprise an information transfer apparatus including an information source connected to an xe2x80x9cinformation to constant frequency converter,xe2x80x9d a transmitter connected to the information to constant frequency converter, a receiver linked to the transmitter, and a constant frequency interpreter connected to the receiver.
The invention may also comprise an information transfer apparatus. The apparatus includes an electronic device having a plurality of digital outputs, each of the plurality of digital outputs dedicated to carrying a particular predetermined bit of information. The apparatus also includes a presettable binary counter having a clock input, a plurality of preset inputs, and a ripple carry output. The plurality of digital outputs of the electronic device are connected to the plurality of preset inputs of the counter. An oscillator is connected to the clock input of the counter. A computer processor is linked to the ripple carry output of the binary counter. Computer executable program code is associated with said computer processor, including code for measuring a constant frequency from the ripple carry output, and code for comparing the constant frequency with a plurality of frequency ranges to identify which of the plurality of frequency ranges the constant frequency falls within.